Hydraulic impact hammers, sometimes known as hydraulic hammers, are devices which typically attach to an excavator or similar type of machinery and are used for breaking rock, stone, concrete and other hard objects by repetitively pounding such objects with an elongated hammer tool. The hydraulic impact hammer typically includes a hydraulic reciprocating mechanism for causing the hammer tool to repetitively move (pound) downward relative to the hydraulic hammer (upward return movement results from the object pushing against the hammer tool when hydraulic downward movement is repetitively released), thereby providing the impact pounding force to the hammer tool for impacting objects, such as stone and concrete.
When pounding at one location, the hammer tool causes the stone to form a particulate powder. This accumulated powder in an area being pounded dissipates much of the energy of the hydraulic tool, thereby making the chipping process a slow, time-consuming process.